I was surprised to see that with all the newfangled high-falutin' gee-gaws on those planes, it came down to the engines, which of course aren't even made by Boeing, but by GE ("We bring good things plummeting to earth"). Of course, those are still newfangled high-falutin' gee-gaws too, in that they're planning to fix this through software. Eep.

buzzcut73:space1999: urging 15 carriers to avoid flying them near high-level thunderstorms....The warning on Friday led Japan Airlines to pull 787 Dreamliners from two international routes.

Apparently, there are two JAL international routes that are prone to flying near thunderstorms. WTF?

Anything that crosses the equator, and thus the ITCZ is prone to flying near thunderstorms. I think one route I read they were changing was Japan-India (not sure about the actual city pair).[www.srh.noaa.gov image 250x166]

Yes and no...flights from Japan to India (or Singapore) don't cross the equator.

Yeah, that was my bad. I should have said 'anywhere near the equator' generally anywhere between 18N and 18S you'll find the ITCZ--if it's on the north side and you're flying Japan-Singapore or India there's a decent chance you'll find it.

Keep shopping for the lowest bidder in your attempt to bust Northwest unions, assholes. Because if there's one thing I want built as cheaply as possible, it's a big aluminum tube hurtling through the stratosphere at a few hundred miles per hour with a few hundred people inside.

Wireless Joe:Keep shopping for the lowest bidder in your attempt to bust Northwest unions, assholes. Because if there's one thing I want built as cheaply as possible, it's a big aluminum tube hurtling through the stratosphere at a few hundred miles per hour with a few hundred people inside.

You do realize that this has nothing to do with the actual airplane, but rather the engines, which in this case are made by GE Aviation, a union (UAW if my googles are correct) plant in Ohio?

What Boeing is doing with assembly work is somewhat shady, that has nothing to do with this engine issue.